PROBE award

Barclaycard Headquarters
The Barclaycard headquarters in Northampton is the first prestige office building the PROBE Team has reviewed that beats ECON 19 good practice energy targets – with CO² emissions falling 9% below the set level.

The client brief was unusual for an office building, asking for an environmentally-friendly, naturally ventilated space for intermittent occupation. The designers estimated that a mixed-mode solution would use only 60% of the energy consumption of a typical building, but were unable to guarantee this. The client, however, was committed to environmental issues and prepared to accept different ideas, while the building operator was keen to exploit the energy-minimising potential of the building and its systems.

Significant factors in the building's performance in terms of energy use were the integration of thermal storage in the building and a cooling pond, solar shading, and low transport energy use for the air and water systems. The building also had a good response from users, with comfort reported as above average despite low user control.

and the runner-up...

Dyfi Eco Park
Dyfi Eco Park in mid-Wales has been singled out by the PROBE Team as an exemplar of holistic sustainable development. In a scheme driven by the Welsh Development Agency, the Park has successfully adopted energy efficiency and environmental attributes within commercial property market constraints.

Through good briefing and management, Barclaycard has achieved both occupant satisfaction and good practice energy targets

Judges’ comment

It comprises three light industrial buildings, and was developed in an attempt to attract industry to the rural area. An environmental approach was used as a marketing tool and to minimise impact on the area, and it seems to have worked – with at least two of the final tenants having chosen the premises for this agenda.

The environmental performance of the buildings is proving highly robust, with the units being very energy efficient. The energy-related CO² emissions of the first completed unit are the lowest of any non-domestic building for which reliable data is available.